This application claims the priority of German application 198 45 393.0, filed in Germany on Oct. 2, 1998, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to an opening arrangement for a vehicle door, having an exterior door shell as well as an interior door shell and having a door lock which can be operated by means of an exterior door grip arranged on the outside on the exterior door shell, which exterior door grip is movably disposed by means of a bearing bow fixed on the interior side on the exterior door shell.
Such an opening arrangement for a vehicle door is generally known in the case of passenger cars. The vehicle door of such a passenger car is composed of an outer covering forming the exterior door shell as well as of a door plate forming the interior door shell. In a known manner, the vehicle door also has a door lock which is arranged opposite a hinge arrangement on the vehicle door and can be operated from the outside by means of an exterior door grip. In the case of such a passenger car, the exterior door grip is preferably arranged on a--viewed in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle--rearward door section and is designed as a pull grip. The further development as a pull grip permits an opening of the vehicle door by a corresponding pulling movement. For the bearing of the exterior door grip on the exterior door shell, a bearing bow is fixed on the interior side on the exterior door shell. Corresponding passages are provided in the exterior door shell which permit the passing through of corresponding partial sections of the exterior door grip for its bearing.
It is an object of the invention to provide an opening arrangement of the initially mentioned type which, in the event of an intrusion of the vehicle door because of a vehicle impact, reduces the risk of an unintentional opening of the vehicle door.
This object is achieved according to preferred embodiments of the invention in that the bearing bow is supported at the level of an end area of the exterior door grip, viewed in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, by way of at least one deformation-resistant torsion support on the interior door shell, and is fixed at the level of the end area of the exterior door grip situated on the opposite side in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle on a door-fixed support part, particularly the door lock.
As the result of the solution according to the invention, it is possible to prevent a torsion of the bearing bow and therefore also a torsion of the exterior door grip. The invention is based on the recognition that, in the case of known vehicle doors, corresponding door intrusions resulted in torsions of the exterior door grip which lead to an unintentional triggering of the door lock and therefore in an unintentional opening of the vehicle door. One securing section of the bearing bow at the level of one end area of the exterior door grip is preferably held by means of a bearing pin in a stable manner in a lock carrier of the door lock which is connected with the interior door plate. The correspondingly adjacent other securing section of the bearing bow at the level of the end area of the exterior door grip situated on the opposite side in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is connected by the at least one torsion support with the interior door plate, that is, the interior door shell. In addition to avoiding torsions in the triggering direction of the exterior door grip, which may lead to an unintentional and automatic opening of the vehicle door, the solution according to the invention reduces the intrusion of the vehicle door in the entire area of the exterior door grip.
As a further development of preferred embodiments of the invention, the torsion support on the bearing bow is disposed by means of a supporting section which permits at least two different supporting angles relative to the bearing bow. As a result, it is conceivable to arrange the torsion support in differently diagonal alignments with respect to the bearing bow. This further development particularly permits the use of an identically constructed torsion support in the area of a right as well as of a left vehicle door.
In a further development of preferred embodiments of the invention, the torsion support has two supporting heads which are aligned with one another in a fork-type manner and of which one is provided for the arrangement of the torsion support in a left vehicle door and the other is provided for the arrangement in a right vehicle door. This further development permits also for the front side of the torsion support facing the interior door shell the identically constructed use of torsion supports in the case of the left as well as the right vehicle door.
As a further development of preferred embodiments of the invention, the torsion support is oriented to be inclined once or several times in the space. As a result, it is possible to use a corresponding torsion support for achieving the desired securing function also in the case of more complicated spatial designs of the interior door shell and/or the bearing bow.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.